They made for good examples of game design, the ones we chose to keep playing and those to set aside really being decided on how well they fit two factors:

Easy to learn, but hard to master
Skill based but with an element of luck

In a computer game, a poor UI can detract from those, whilst graphics are irrelevant. You can, with a little imagination, set the same well designed game in space or in feudal Japan without losing it’s good design qualities

As for “Why make a game?” the better question is rather “Why do people play games (generally)?”.

i play games for the art, storyline and to see how those people designed everything. i loved “Alice” because of it’s unique textures and storyline the most.

maybe when i’ll get my BFA i’ll be good enough to work in the industry i’ll so some things like that too!

that statue doesn’t bother me. it looks like a drugged Buddha.

I don’t want to oversimplify, but besides id Software, you and a handful of other companies (the deceased Looking Glass and EPIC, indie developers like Eskil Steenberg of L.O.V.E. etc.) no one gives a humane response to “why make games?”

I hope that in the future this niche will turn into a priority, but the necessity of a paradigm shift is essential.

respect for that you do.